Siren

Sirens, most famously referred to in Homer’s Odyssey, were women-bird hybrids encountered in the voyage of Odysseus. The island-dwelling creatures were said to use their beautiful voices to draw in and devour sailors. The themes of sexuality and death associated with their mythology have made them compelling even in current-day storytelling, evident from their appropriation in modern literature, film and television as malevolent mermaids.

William Turnbull’s interpretation of the siren focuses on a simplified and broad representation which asks the viewer to focus on their immediate, visceral experience of the subject matter. The Siren piece is an upright bronze casting, with a sinuous silhouette that curves in four sections and extends into a thin extended form at its highest point. The simplicity of this shape encourages a range of interpretations from the viewer, and substitutes the contextual connotations of its mythical motif for a very direct image.

In Siren Turnbull manipulates texture to inform the viewer’s impression of the object. In parts, the surface displays marks made by the artist to suggest human physicality, whilst in other areas it is smooth and devoid of marks. Through this, the sculpture demands varying readings from the viewer as they walk around the figure and engage with it in three dimensions, subtly imitating the duality and deception that the sirens demonstrate in Greek mythology.